Sylarn spent a few good weeks drumming in Ryslen Weyr's heights. He'd always thought it odd that a weyr had drumheights, but not every hold had a resident dragon or a firelizard trained to deliver messages accurately. There were so many firelizards that misbehaved...
Sylarn's thought was interrupted as a drum message rolled in:
THUD - thud- thudthud
URGENT: URGENT |
THUD - thud
Sylarn's eyes went wide. He handed the drumsticks to the other Journeyman. "Reply! Reply! I've got to FLY!"
The other Journeyman stepped up to the drum, and clearly beat out the reply to the urgent message. Sylarn grabbed up his things and ran out into the bowl.
Sxoith, one of the watchdragons was landing as he emerged, trying to struggle into his riding jacket without dropping his pack. Kerli grabbed his things and tied them onto Sxoith, her fingers moving deftly with much practice. "Thanks!" Sylarn called, as he scrambled up onto the green. "I thought they'd give more warning!"
"Me too!" Kerli said, vaulting from Sxoith'd forelimb to her seat.
Straps fastened, the green sprang from the bowl and went Between almost immediately.
They appeared over Alabaster, and quickly landed. Sylarn stripped off his riding jacket, threw on a candidate's robe, and cautiously crept into the Hatching grounds with the others. Lord Holder Engell seemed to be staring at him as he stood with the others, looking on as the eggs wobbled.
Egg after egg cracked, ant the dragons Impressed. Sylarn tapped his hands against his leg, unconciously drumming the measures for "hatching dragons" as he watched.
Another brown broke his shell with effort. His head poked through the hold he'd made but he was having difficulty getting his shoulder joints through. His wings finally sproinged out of the shell, and he left it mostly intact on the sands. People in the stands muttered to each other that that would make quite an interesting collection piece, a mostly-whole dragon's egg. Certainly Lord Holder Engell was thinking it, by the way he looked it over!
The brown hatchling stood and stretched, as if he could slither through anything. What he did slither up to was the few boys left over. He looked at Sylarn and plopped down on his butt. Show me a pattern, Sy'n, you can communicate over distances like dragons can! Only with sound! That is fascinating!
"I will show you whatever you like, Onaleth!" Sy'n announced. They left the sands as carefully as they both had entered!
Once Onaleth's hatching hunger was satisfied, he curled up to listen to S'yn's "patterns."
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